i think my first baking endeavor was baking boxed brownies, either duncan hines, or betty crocker. i would make them with my mom when i was little, we would load them with chopped walnuts or pecans, and top them off with a dusty coating of powdered sugar. nothing was better! i continued to make them on my own as i got older, often baking them for holidays, and birthdays. i was always successful until i made a series of bad brownies. from those times on i started to make brownies from scratch. as i got to know my ingredients, i loved that brownies were so simple and yet the slightest increase or decrease of an ingredient yielded a totally different, but equally delicious outcome. there's nothing better than a really good brownie!

this recipe hails from the archives of The Beeroness. a blog dedicated to delicious recipes, both savory and sweet, that incorporate all kinds of beer. so, who better to turn to when you have a 3 week old chocolate stout beer sitting in your fridge waiting to be used. not only did i love this recipe because it called for beer, but i liked the fact that the ingredients were easily interchangeable. i substituted coconut oil for butter, coconut palm sugar for cane sugar , and oat flour for unbleached flour. the results were really good...surprisingly. i didn't know if the oat flour would make the brownies too dry, or if the coconut oil's scent would be too strong, but both worked really well here. these are not so much a dense brownie, rather, they are a more cake-y brownie. they have a rich chocolate taste (thanks to some really good 70% cacao chocolate) without being too sweet. i urge you not to skimp on the chocolate, the lower the percentage of cacao, the less richness you will have.

heat a 8 or 10 inch cast iron (or oven safe) skillet, on low. melt the coconut oil on low, once melted add the chocolate - stir until melted. remove from heat and stir in the chocolate stout

in a medium bowl, combine the eggs and sugar - whisk until combined. add flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso, and salt, to the egg mixture - whisk until combined. now add to the stout mixture - stir gently until ingredients are combined

place in the middle of the rack and bake 25-32 minutes - the top should be set when ready

top with some almond milk ice cream (or regular ice cream), grab a spoon, and enjoy